dubs

yep. Bills released Lindell after the 3rd preseason game. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/63002/dustin-hopkins-wins-bills-kicking-job

He won the job, but it was against Lindell, not Carpenter. I think the Bills need to try and sign Carpenter and let the two battle it out in camp. I am not sure how much MORE you could expect from Hopkins than what you actually got from Dan last year. Maybe you can put Hopkins on the PS (I don't know, just wondering if that's an option).

I don't see what the concern about this would be. Four teams each play one additional game (the number 2 seed and a number 7 seed). For fans, it's a little more excitement at the end of the year. Lighten up people.

Haha. Well, I think Gladwell's point was that practice and reputation is a larger influence in success than given credit for. I'd argue that it got blown out of proportion by others. To liken it to this was only to say that both theories would suggest that it takes a while for people to reach their plateau, 1000 pass attempts, 10,000 hours. But thanks for arguing!

I was talking about this in another thread also. His combine was really impressive. He could be a more physical Randy Moss or something. What gave me pause about his was the 'highlight' tape someone posted a couple months ago. It looked very average to me. I really haven't spent a ton of time studying him, so I could certainly be wrong, but something just didn't seem great to me. Evans looked sluggish and made a lot of catches simply because he was so physically dominant, not because he was a better WR. Who knows, Buffalo drafts him and I def won't be upset, just a little more worried.

Very interesting. Thanks for the post! Kind of akin to the '10,000 hours' rule Malcolm Gladwell talked about in Outliers.

Wow! I think we all need to lighten up about this. Jboyst was clearly joking around. Can't we even jest anymore without worrying about the PC police?

Agreed! Evans just worries more. I think bigger bust potential. But they could both be awesome. Never know!

Well, look at it this way. Currently the Bills have two number 2 WRs and some specialists (Goodwin for speed, etc..). Watkins is a real deal number 1. Evans could be, but less refined and rougher than Watkins.

Perhaps. I like the idea of Evans, a big guy, fast, good hands, red zone target. But watching him left me concerned. As far as who helped who on the A&M offense, I tend to think that once a QB breaks the pocket and buys time scrambling, it makes the job of the WR much easier. It's very difficult for DBs to stick with WRs for more than a few seconds, especially when lanes break down and they have to worry about running up to support stoping the scramble or finding the WR that's now running wild.

These are beyond gross. I though the Giants were the Bills. Basically Buffalo saying "we are the only team in NY"

Something about Evans just screams bust to me. I can't really put my finger on it, but I think it's a combination of watching his highlight films and being very disappointed, having Manziel create plays and throwing to him for two years, and being a combine heroes. In my opinion, we have to hope Watkins drops and if not, work to trade out of that spot. Even if we can't trade out of that spot, there's still going to be a stud there without having to reach for Evans at 9.

The Bills are in a really good position this year. Now, with the disclaimer that 1) draftniks and experts are not foolproof, and 2) something crazy always happens in the draft, let's make the assumption that there are 9 prospects in the top tier of the draft or at least likely to be drafted in the top 9. They would be: Defense: Clowney Mack Anthony Barr Tackles: Greg Robinson Jake Matthews Receiver: Watkins Quarterback: Bridgewater Bortles Manziel I think the Bills do one of three things: Best case scenario: Watkins drops and drafts him Medium case scenario: Someone other than Watkins drops and trade down Worst case, still a good outcome: Take the BPA. The only two on that list I wouldn't want are Bortles and Bridgewater. Just my one cent.

If Watkins is there and we draft a TE it would be so, Typical Bills.

Sammy Watkins or bust

I guess one of the benefits from have a mostly mediocre roster.

20 (15-5)

According to the ESPN NFL division beat writers, the Bills are the only team with a 'High' likelihood of drafting Sam. http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=nflnation&id=116406

Why?

You don't even have to attend. Just giving everyone the same rights and opportunities is all this is really about. I happen to believe that we are already there in that regard. There are laws that are enforced that ensure no matter what your race, sex, creed, or sexual orientation are that you have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. That's all that really matters. We are never going to get to a point where everyone 'likes' everyone else. And that's fine. What's amazing to me is how quickly we forget the times when the only thing that matters is being American. Right after 9/11 was the best example of this in recent memory. The last thing that anyone cared about were the differences we had, but rather we only cared about our commonality, being American.

Re: the point I think you are trying to make with a set of rules society needs to live by, I do agree with you. I think there is WAY too much bending over backward to accommodate everyone today. That said, I don't think this fits into that category. I think there are plenty of other areas, though, that do fall into this category. Things like not saying the pledge in schools because the word God is used, or changing the name of a football team because a small minority of people find it offensive, even though there is no offensive intent in that name. People would be much better off having a thicker skin than worrying about everyone else. For example, I saw yesterday that a person is suing their employer because she doesn't identify as a man or woman, but her co-workers referred to her as "she" and "miss". She is essentially claiming that the employer should re-write commonly accepted social norms simply because she wants to be called a made up pronoun, zie. Its insane. Again, that being said, I don't think Sam falls into this category, but think your premise has merit as it applies to other areas of society. Sam is just trying to live his life and not asking for any special treatment. Just an opportunity that anyone else would want that's put in the time and effort to master his craft.

Campaign Manager: "Sir, we have an election coming up this year" Candidate: "Obviously, I've been campaigning for a year now, how do the polls look" Campaign Manager: "Before we get to the polls, I wanted to remind you that NY State is pretty big and extends all the way past Albany to Lake Erie" Candidate: "Really, what do you mean, I thought that was Ohio or Candada" Campaign Manager: "No sir, that's NY state, we call it "upstate" but it's really western NY. They have Niagara Falls, Wings, and a professional football team" Candidate: "Oh yeah, Buffalo, I forgot about those hillbillies. Is that why they call them the bills? Anyway, let's tell them we are exploring ways to get a new stadium and keep the team around, that'll cover the major issues" Manager: "Exactly sir, playbook 101"

Gotcha and thanks for sharing! It just seems to me that it's a lot of noise from a extremely small minority of folks and the vast majority of people (including Native American), don't have any issues with it. That's why I asked your opinion and that's a very good first hand account of why some do find this offensive. It'll be interesting to see where this goes. Will this be another feather in the cap of the politically correct, or not? I thought the point about what Oklahoma means was a valid one, as well as time spent on the real issues facing the Native American community.

Well, I guess what I am asking is what about the term is racist or offensive. What you and the prior poster did is really just say that it's offensive because it is. Again, I am not really saying you are wrong, but I am honestly not seeing it and trying to find out what's offensive about it.

I saw today that two members of congress wrote Roger Goodell and threaten him to publicly state his disapproval of the name Redskins, in an effort to pressure Snyder to change the name. The threat was lightly veiled in that Congress would reconsider the tax-exempt status of the NFL if the name wasn't changed. Real basic question, how is the name racist? I am not even being trite, I honestly don't understand what is derogatory about the name. The vast majority of Native Americans polled don't have an issue with the name. Just curious to see what others think. Thanks!